Backpacked this section last weekend. It was very rocky, muddy and there were lots of leaves on the ground which can hide some hazards and make your footing less stable. We had to detour at a water crossing which added almost a mile to our hike. This section has a couple significant inclines and declines also.

very pretty vistas. its challenging but not strenuous. have to pay attention on ascending/descending parts of trail as there are some parts where you could slip. bring a change of socks as you have to cross the creek several times and the likelihood of getting your feet wet is high even with the man made rock bridges

The trail/fire road from the main road is very overgrown and flooded in some areas. Huckleberry trail can be easily missed. I had to circle back after missing it, and noticed the red marker only from the opposite side of the trail. Huckleberry was less muddy but still a lot of wet spots. It started snowing on my trip and it was beautiful. A lot flatter than I expected for a high point, but the 11.5 mile trek was still tiring. Took me just under 5 hours with lots of stops for pictures along the way and at the top.

Nice loop. If you do the loop counter clockwise you get the water crossing more toward the end of the trail... ...there are a lot of them. The water was deep today so that added to the challenge if getting myself and my dog across. There is a section on gravel road where you can really haul ass down hill. Only one really pretty look out area though ...at least until maybe the leaves start coming down.

My husband and I only made it 3 miles today. It was super rainy and we made a solid attempt but I was over the sopping wet clothes after 1.5 miles. The trail itself was extremely rocky. Also, personally I prefer an up hill climb for the first half of a hike and down hill on the way up.. this trail was the opposite of that. It was very beautiful though and we enjoyed looking at the unfamiliar vegetation and wildlife.

Long Pond Trail from Oldtown-Orleans Road to Long Pond Shelter. Approximately 4 miles one way. Difficult because of steep grades and loose rock caused by erosion from recent heavy rains.

After obtaining the $10 camping permit, we parked at the trail crossing on Oldtown-Orleans Road. The red blaze was easy to see and there was ample parking. The trail follows a small stream down the mountain. A series of beaver ponds can be seen on the left about 3/4 mile from the trailhead. Continue about another 1/4 mile, and turn sharply left onto an old woods road. Pass several wildlife clearings. After about 1 mile, leave the woods road and ascend steeply for about 1.5 mile. The trail turns and makes a steep descent for the next mile. The last part of this descent is extremely steep, eroded, and hazardous, with many exposed roots. You may want to back down, holding the tree roots as you carefully find safe footing. (We submitted a report to the forest office, and they will seek funding and manpower for a repair or relocation.)

The last quarter mile is a pleasant walk along the floodplain of Fifteen Mile Creek. There are a couple of campsites near the water, with decent swimming holes. We saw what we think is the "Oldsmobile" hubcap mentioned in a review on midatlantichikes.com, now moved downstream and lodged in the rocks on the far side of the creek.

The shelter is clean and in good repair, with a nice fire ring. Behind the shelter, there is a stand of trees, some of which would accommodate hammocks, and a few open spaces for tenting. Our bear bag was undisturbed.

The return trip up from the floodplain was less scary but still treacherous. Take care when walking the woods road, so you don't miss the sharp right turn where the trail leaves the road and goes up the last hill up to the trailhead. When we missed this turn, we didn't realize our mistake until we were just up the hill from at Long Pond. A quick swim refreshed us before we turned around.

We didn't see any animals, but there were lots of orange mushrooms that we thought were chanterelles. Not being mycologists, we admired them and continued on. There were also trumpet-shaped brown mushrooms that we had never seen before.

This hike would be good training for a hike in Vermont, New Hampshire, or Maine. We will return.

Awesome hike with my son. Beautiful overlooks and the waterfall is much more impressive in person than what photos suggest! Hike was not bad until about mile four coming back out. The last mile was tough but soooo worth it!

Walked out to the waterfall about 2 miles from the parking area. The trail is rocky so a little slow going. The waterfall was awesome due to the amount of rain this year. I would defiantly do it again. The white blaze trade can be a little hard to spot on your way back so keep any eye out for it.

I did this hike today and it was great, love the waterfalls and the view is amazing! it's very rocky and was slippery today from all the rain! I took my 3 liter bladder I ran out while I was half way there sooo consider a lot of water if you are doing it in summer time! ♡ and remember to keep your dogs on a leash.

Hiked from the parking lot at the top of Spruce Knob to Seneca Creek, and it was well worth the hike up the next day. Camp sites can be found all along the creek and I didn't see one bad one. About .2 miles before Judy Springs is the "prettiest camp site in WV" unfortunately we couldn't make camp there as we had to hunker down for a storm but the site featured a waterfall as well as a mill stone table. This is easily one of my favorite trails in WV.

We considered this an enjoyable hike and had lunch at the waterfall, near the head of Laurel Run, which was flowing well due to all the rain lately. Appears to be lightly traveled. Time back out from the Waterfall was about 1hr and 25min.

This trail is hard, not moderate. There are many areas where the trail is very narrow (like a game trail) and it takes you up the side of mountains. Very steep mountains. I’m afraid of heights, so I opted to leave the trail a few times and followed the creek instead. Definitely take water shoes with you as you have to cross the creek several times. Plus, it’s too tempting not to swim, so they’ll come in handy for that too. I won’t do the whole trail again, but I’ll be back to do parts of it and to enjoy the creek more. Absolutely gorgeous.

The trail was relatively well marked. There were a couple spots that we had to question whether we were pushing forward in the correct direction. We also were hiking this trail through a huge rain storm so it was fairly flooded in areas.

We set out to hike this to the spruce knob summit but were discouraged by the overgrown beginning of the trail. This was early July and the growth was as tall as me and we stepped in a huge mud puddle right past the gate. The map we were given at the spruce knob lake campground had the only trailhead at the summit going down. If you are willing to do some serious bushwhacking I’m sure it’s worth it. If we had come earlier in the season or closer to fall I’m sure it would be fine but mid summer it was like no one had hiked this trail in years!

One of the better hikes we've done. The terrain changes many times from stream crossings to steep uphill and narrow rocky crossings. Good time. The actual distance from the parking area to Long Pond and back is closer to 10.5 miles. Be prepared to change into dry socks and stop for a hammock break or a swim. Did see a few deer, but not much other wildlife. The "waterfall" is beautiful, and pay attention at that part, there is an uphill switchback that immediately follows, we missed it and ended up a tough dead end!

Nice hike--climbing two peaks (both ways) on this out-and-back hike. Very, very rocky--need sturdy soles. I made the mistake of wearing running shoes, and my soles were so sore after 10 miles. My hiking partner had sturdy hiking shoes and fared much better. Two big road crossings. Two stream crossings. Mostly shaded/wooded trail, a few open grass crossings. Lots of muddy areas on first .5mile of trail. Wonderful ATC stewards working on the first section. By the time I had returned, it looked spectacular!

Hiked this on a holiday weekday during the summer and it was definitely one of the toughest hikes I've experienced in the area. If you're looking for spectacular views, skip this and go across Route 7 to Raven Rock which is much shorter and offers great views. This hike was a continuous up and down ascent-descent and offered a great workout. Make sure to bring enough water--this is the only hike I drank all 3L of water in my hydration pack. The climbs are challenging, and there are a few streams to cross that offered a much needed break and water to drench your head in--these are what made this hike tolerable on a 90+ deg summer day.

All in all, great work out and will go back again (on a cooler day). I question the moderate rating on All Trails though, I would categorize this as "hard" compared to the other moderate-rated trails on here.